


Slow

by arthurmarston



Series: Arthur’s Journal [4]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bottom John Marston, Consensual Kink, Dom Arthur Morgan, Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, M/M, No Spoilers, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Praise Kink, Romance, Slow Burn, Sub John Marston, The boys are finally making some progress, This is becoming a connected story, Top Arthur Morgan, Video Game: Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), there may be kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 09:30:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18962527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthurmarston/pseuds/arthurmarston
Summary: John’s feelings for Arthur are starting to become more complex than the man could have ever imagined.





	Slow

Arthur Morgan.

The only man that John could simultaneously lose sleep over and sleep better with.

Just hearing the man’s name was enough to intoxicate John these days and throw his entire thought process to shambles. One minute he would be chopping wood, the next minute he’d be daydreaming and practically hacking his thumb off from the lack of awareness.

It was hard for John to continue to call it just a friendly back scratching, no, for it had grown legs and teeth and an insatiable hunger for more that he didn’t know how to contain.

Arthur’s lips. God. John wanted to feel them against his own - taste him. He longed for it. He wished he could just go up and kiss the man, but John wasn’t exactly the ballsy type - especially when it came to Arthur.

Abigail was none the wiser - John was always immature and ignoring of his fatherly duties, and so it didn’t quite matter that he’d been wandering off more and more lately - she simply tacked it up to John Marston being his useless, dumb-as-rocks self.

She didn’t know what he was up to, she’d assume the worst of it and keep herself occupied. Maybe John would turn things around eventually. Probably not.

Abigail wasn’t Arthur and John wasn’t willing to budge anymore. Arthur had kept telling him not to be so obvious, because, ‘ _you still gotta wife and a kid, John_ ’ but John didn’t think it mattered much. And it couldn’t of mattered much to Arthur either, considering he’d take the younger man beneath him on a near daily basis now.

Back from fishing? _I missed you, John_.

Just finished a heist? _A good excuse_.

Everyone’s asleep? _Not us_.

John couldn’t quit Arthur, but it didn’t seem like Arthur could quit him either. And that’s all John really cared about. The attention. The assurance. Something he never quite felt from anyone else - even Dutch. Dutch’s praises and love certainly filled a gaping hole in John, but Arthur... Arthur made John feel things he never felt before. Didn’t feel it with Abigail. Didn’t feel it with no one. Just Arthur... and he didn’t know what it was but he wanted to keep feeling that way. For as long as he could.

‘ _You be good while I’m gone, boy._ ’

John had been thinking of those words for three days now - three painful days. They sat in his belly, hot and aching, because dammit... he always wanted to be good for Arthur.

The older man had gone on a trip with Hosea and had left John basically to rot in the meantime. It didn’t quite occur to John how long three days could feel until he’d hit the end of the first day and realized how much he missed Arthur.

It was weird missing someone and it took awhile for John to even admit he was capable of such an emotion. Because John Marston didn’t miss people - he was a lone wolf. A man sworn to solitude that wasn’t supposed to sit there and twiddle his thumbs waiting for someone to come back to him. But youth has its mysteries, surely, and now John has been longing for Arthur like a dog waiting on a meal.

When day three had come around, John felt positively desperate. He had taken over guard duty from two other people just so that he could catch Arthur on his way back in. But the man never showed up - and neither did Hosea.

At dinner time, with everyone surrounding the campfire, John finally had to ask where they were. He tried to be as discrete and collected as possible.

“So, did Arthur and Hosea fall off a cliff or somethin’?” He asked nonchalantly.

Dutch let out a hardy laugh, pausing to let his spoon rest against his plate in his lap. “They’ll be back soon, son. Don’t you worry about them.”

Javier had been smirking in the background. “You and Arthur always together, huh?”

John rolled his eyes, focusing on his food. “Arthur’s a good friend to have around. Something none of you would know about.”

Javier’s lips pursed together in amusement. “Seems pretty queer if you ask me.”

“He’s a friend.” John snapped, repeating himself, nearly slamming his spoon down. “Figured I’d needed a friend.”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t run off for a year, you’d have some more.” Bill had chimed in now, a mouth full of stew.

John felt that sting in his chest and an immediate spark of anger. “I only ran off because all you sour pieces of-“

“Little Johnny Marston.” The words were like velvet - the heavy drawl that John had known so well. He didn’t even need to process them to know who it was.

The younger man immediately turned to look back over his shoulder, eyes looking up, big and wide, as he saw Arthur standing there, hands on his hips.

“You bein’ bad again?” The outlaw asked with a smirk, reaching out to ruffle at John’s already messy hair, earning a groan in response.

The camp laughed in the background and John felt the familiar heat crawling at his cheeks.

“Alright, everyone, settle down.” Dutch said with a kind smile, patting at the nearest log for Hosea to join him in front of the fire.

John didn’t even see them get back... and now he was wondering how much of the conversation Arthur had heard.

Arthur, being the man he was, sat himself down practically in John’s lap, forcing the younger man to move over towards the edge of the log so that they could both share it.

“You boys hungry?” Pearson asked from the opposite site, earning eager nods from both Hosea and Arthur.

And for the most part, the night went on peacefully.

John had this internal fire in his chest over what Javier and Bill had said to him... but none of them dared to speak up about it to Arthur. Because, of course, Arthur was a lot more menacing than John could ever hope to be. John might’ve had a quicker temper and a happy trigger finger, but Arthur had words and words were powerful. Dutch had ingrained that into John’s head - drilled that into him every time John messed up the alphabet. Made sure he kept trying. Forced him to learn how to read and write. And he was definitely better for it - just not as gifted, he guessed.

“Let’s talk.” Arthur had said as everyone started to turn in for the evening, the outlaw catching John by the arm before he could walk away from the fire.

There wasn’t anyone else around at this point - just them. But with Arthur, it didn’t matter, it always felt like pressure.

“About?” John questioned hesitantly, eyes looking down at the hand holding at his bicep.

“Us.” Arthur hummed out, making a nod towards his tent that made John’s stomach churn anxiously. They sure did talk about this a lot it seemed.

The younger nodded and allowed himself to be pulled towards the tent, the two slipping in rather unnoticed, or at least John had hoped. Maybe they weren’t as secretive as they thought they were if Javier was making jabs.

“Why was they askin’ about us?” Arthur immediately asked the moment the tent flap was closed, arms crossing over his chest while John took a seat in the folding chair in the corner that Arthur often shaved at.

“I don’t know. I didn’t say nothing.” John defended, as if being accused.

Arthur furrowed his brows.

John wanted to reach out and touch him - feel him... breathe him in. But he sat still, feeling his entire body heat up at the way Arthur was just standing there, staring at him... wordless for once. God, why couldn’t John just think straight?

“Don’t let Javier talk to you like that.”

“I weren’t.”

“You was. I was there. I heard.” Arthur corrected, now walking over to John and gently touching at his face, fingers coming to the younger’s chin to slowly draw his face to look up at him. “Calm and collected, John. Gotta stay cool headed.”

“I’m sorry.” John answered, feeling almost like a child being scolded, eyes wavering slightly as he forced himself to look up. His eyes went between Arthur’s own and his lips, back and forth. He was sure Arthur noticed. They were so close - he could just reach out and kiss him...

Arthur let the hand go, John’s face dropping and eyes immediately falling to his lap. “I’m gonna go talk to Hosea real quick before he goes to bed. Mind waiting for me?” The words were inviting; soft and gentle and everything John felt his knees go weak over.

He nodded. Silent. Arthur smiled and sauntered out of the tent, closing the flap behind him and leaving John alone.

At first, John was content with just sitting there but after ten minutes or so, he’d begun to get anxious, one leg jumping up and down continuously to keep himself occupied. Arthur’s idea of ‘real quick’ was clearly quite different than John’s... or maybe John was just impatient. It was hard to say.

From the corner of his eye, the younger man suddenly caught the cover of Arthur’s journal, sitting right at the foot of the mattress. He’d remembered fondly the first time he’d been caught with it - also the only time - and it ended better than he could’ve expected. But this time, rather than getting caught, John considered reading it just to surprise Arthur. Maybe he could find a new drawing and get a head start on making it a reality without the other man finding out.

He smirked.

“Arthur won’t mind.” He mumbled to himself, shooting up from the chair in order to snatch the leather journal up into his hands, a pencil nestled neatly in the binder and the flap wound up just like Arthur always left it.

Carefully, John slowly opened the book and began to shuffle through the pages. Arthur really did draw him a lot... page after page, and nearly all of them were John. His heart felt full just seeing himself littered across the pages, even more so when he found the occasional drawing of what would be just him sleeping or posed up against a tree fully clothed.

And then he’d come across a paragraph, biting at his lip as he considered the consequences of what may be invasive. But, of course, John didn’t really weigh it out for too long before he shrugged and began reading.

‘ _John Marston don’t deserve you. He’s got Abigail and Jack. Why can’t you see that? Why do you keep letting him reel you back in? It’s no good. You know it’s no good. There’s someone out there for you and they ain’t supposed to be John Marston. What happened to Mary? Why couldn’t you keep Mary? You really do love misery, Arthur Morgan. You do_.’

John slammed the book shut, clamping his eyes closed as if to try and erase the words that were now burned into his corneas.

“You’re a fool, John.” The man said to himself, bitterly, taking the book and setting it back down hastily, heart feeling like it was suddenly being pulled down into his stomach. “A stupid fool.” He repeated, not even bothering to close the journal.

Without another moment to spare, he took off and darted out of the tent, practically picking up into a run so that he could avoid bumping into Arthur. He just wanted to be alone.

“John?” It was Arthur - of fucking course it was. Just in the nick of time.

He was walking after him, John going faster and trying to pretend he didn’t hear nor see the other man.

“John, wait up!” Arthur called out, laughing out in amusement when he’d run up to John and grabbed at the younger’s arm. “Where you off to in such a hurry? What - did you finish the job without me?”

John was flustered, not fighting back but instead just trying to get away by picking up the pace. “I need to talk to Abigail. I’m sorry. I gotta go.” He said and Arthur immediately let go, face falling a bit.

“Oh.” The older outlaw seemed caught off guard, voice soft. His hands fell to his side and he stopped in his tracks. “Okay, John. You know where to find me.”

But John didn’t reply - no - he just kept going, and it was beyond obvious to the older man that he wasn’t going to talk to Abigail because John made a hard left towards the river bank outside of camp. But he didn’t move or speak. Just watched. And then with a sigh, headed back for his own tent.

—

John had found a nice hill to sit himself down on, a bottle of whiskey in one hand, and a couple of revolving pebbles in the other as he shot them across at the river below, attempting to skip them once or twice.

But the more he drank, the less skips the pebbles seemed to take before they’d dunk under the roar of the water and sink to the bottom of the river. John felt a lot like a pebble - Arthur had thrown him out, only he didn’t skip, he just sank.

Sank deep.

He couldn’t believe what he’d read. Not that he didn’t agree - Arthur certainly did deserve better than him. And he did have Abigail and Jack... and Mary was better than him.

All of it made sense, but all of it hurt him like the wolves that mauled his face up in the mountains.

The whiskey wasn’t even taking the edge off, instead just making him drunker and sadder. Emptier.

“Why do I care so much...” He murmured out, throwing the empty bottle and sighing out at the sound of it shattering against the rocks. He probably shouldn’t of done that - now some animal would cut itself on the glass. Real nice of him.

“John, the heck you doin’ out here at 3 AM?” A voice beckoned from behind in the distance.

John sucked in a hard breath and shook his head, refusing to look. “Don’t come over here.” He answered bluntly, knowing who it was.

“We need to talk, John. C’mon.” Arthur groaned out softly as he walked nearer to the shadowy figure sitting hunched up all alone on the hill.

“No, we don’t. We talked before.” John responded, not even close to being drunk enough to handle this well. Arthur’s voice was sobering - a harsh reminder.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “You don’t get to read my journal out of context and not even let me explain.” He spat now, a scowl to his face though John was still looking away.

“How do you even know I read your journal?” He hissed out, voice hoarse.

“You must be the dumbest man alive. You left it open on my bed! On the god damn page!”

He felt his blood run cold now. “Whatever. Your journal weren’t outta context, Arthur. You wrote it, I read it. There ain’t nothing left to say. It ain’t like it was a page ripped outta some book. It was your journal.”

Arthur was right behind him now, moving to grab at his shoulder, but John immediately stood up and dodged it, stumbling to his feet and heading in the opposite direction.

“You’re gonna fall, you idiot!” Arthur yelled out in surprise when John had backed himself up against the edge of the hill just to escape him.

“I don’t even care!” John shouted back, holding his hands out in front of him as if to keep Arthur at a distance.

The hill wasn’t very tall and the fall down into the river wasn’t exactly the worst - but John couldn’t swim and both men knew that. John didn’t care.

“I ain’t deserve you! You wrote them exact words!” John yelled angrily over the roar of the river, teetering his balance between his feet while Arthur stood still in place.

“ _I_ don’t deserve _you_ , ya jackass! You don’t know how to fucking read! I’m the problem! You aren’t the problem!” Arthur growled back, fists balled up out of frustration. “Get over here already before you get hurt, you illiterate moron!”

John didn’t even have a chance to comprehend the words before he’d lost his balance and slipped off the edge, falling backwards off the hill and plunging down under the cold river’s roar. His first reaction - stupidly enough - was to immediately open his mouth to cry out, the water rushing in and filling his lungs while he splashed about to try and stay afloat.

Arthur was quick, leaping off the hill seconds later, and finding John’s flailing body and heaving him up out of the water.

The entire scene had been over in a minute, Arthur swimming them both to the shore line and dragging John up to the dirt, the younger gagging up the water while Arthur slapped at his back.

After he’d thrown up enough water to finally start breathing again, John laid himself flat on his back, staring up at the night sky, shivering from both the sheer panic and the icy water.

Arthur was sitting there, frowning and soaked, water droplets dripping from his brow.

John was still gagging, wiping at his mouth now, and then shamefully turned to look at the older man who had been just sitting there and staring at him while a puddle slowly formed beneath them.

“What did you mean, Arthur...?” He asked pitifully, almost afraid to even ask the question.

Arthur sighed out, shaking his head. “I ain’t got the greatest self esteem, John. It’s my journal. I was feeling low... and I wrote that. It weren’t about you not deserving me. It were me that didn’t think I deserved you.”

John was silent, laying there and stewing in his newfound stupidity. He gnawed on his lip, skeptically. “You care about me?”

“Of course I care about you, John. Why would you even have to ask?”

John shrugged, coughing. “I ain’t sure ‘bout nothing these days.”

“You can be sure about that.” Arthur whispered back, reaching his fingers out to gently brush back a few wet strands of hair from John’s forehead.

They were both silent now - staring at each other in a way that had been happening pretty often lately. Only this time, they weren’t undressed and on top of each other, instead, they were just caught up in a moment.

“Come here.” Arthur murmured out now, voice gentle as he watched the younger man obey, quietly sitting up and crawling his way over.

“I...”

“Yes?” Arthur asked.

John blushed, wiping at his face and then came up on his knees to sit in front of Arthur. He shook his head, voice failing.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile.” Arthur said quietly, hand coming up to gently touch at John’s face.

The entire situation felt familiar - like they’d been here before. In this exact moment.

“...Do what?” John asked sheepishly, breath hitching in his throat as he felt Arthur pulling his face closer to his own.

They were inches apart now. Barely.

“This.” Arthur replied as he finally closed the gap, drawing their lips together in a soft, desperate kiss, John’s eyes fluttering shut while his heart nearly stopped.

All John could taste was Arthur; their lips molding perfectly against each other, the older man slowly opening his mouth to let his tongue gently lick along John’s own lower lip.

There was zero hesitation, John’s lips parting so that he could let his tongue graze softly against Arthur’s, a soft hum leaving the outlaw as John allowed the kiss to deepen.

Arthur’s hand was strong against his cheek, cupping at it tenderly while his opposite hand found its way to his side, rubbing gently.

John’s own hands had come up to caress at Arthur’s cheeks, holding the man there so that the moment wouldn’t end. John could swear time had stopped moving, that the world around them had ceased to exist. There was no more roar of the river, only the audible throbbing of his own heartbeat in his ears while their tongues tangled together.

It didn’t even occur to him that he wasn’t breathing until he’d been forced to pull away, gasping loudly as he took in a heavy breath, eyes fluttering open to look at Arthur.

“Arthur...” He stammered out, hands falling away from Arthur’s face and lower lip being drawn into his mouth as he bit at it, nervous. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. It felt more like a hazy dream than reality and he bit down even harder on his lip in attempts to wake himself if it was.

Arthur was smiling, eyes clouded and lids heavy - lips a deep shade of red as he kept his hands on John. “I’ve been dreaming of that.” He admitted. “Please tell me you’re okay with this.”

John nodded eagerly, not even waiting for a response before he leaned back in and crashed their lips back against each other.

“You been drinkin’, boy,” Arthur murmured in a matter of fact, words spoken practically into John’s mouth as he tasted the younger - the whiskey apparent.

“Mhm.” John replied, voice lost in their kiss, a quiet moan eliciting from his throat when he felt Arthur’s fingers pressing into his side. It all felt natural; like they should have been doing this from the start.

“You gotta stop reading what isn’t yours.” Arthur scolded him now as he separated their lips, opposite hand finding John’s face to hold his chin.

The younger nodded, eyes hazily locked on Arthur’s. “I know, Arthur.” He answered as the older outlaw placed another, small kiss to his lips. He groaned softly. He wanted to keep kissing Arthur - each kiss was like an explosion in his chest, a fire burning through his veins that he’d never quite felt before, nor could explain.

Arthur let his chin go, attaching his lips instead to John’s jawline, the small stubble there scratching at his lips and making him laugh quietly at the back of his throat. He didn’t care that they were still completely soaked from the river - didn’t even care that it was 3 AM and he certainly didn’t care that they were out in the open just a mile or so from camp.

John let his head loll back to one side, resting against his shoulder as Arthur sat up more to kiss all along his throat and slowly downward, lapping up at the river water that dripped down his prominent collar bones. He’d been wearing a union suit with the first set of buttons left undone, leaving an expansive trail of wet, exposed skin for Arthur to mouth at.

“Abigail’s gonna hate me.” Arthur whispered as he slowly crawled on top of John, the younger man laying himself down, head and back against the dirt as Arthur climbed on top of him, shifting his weight to lean down and pepper kisses across his exposed sternum.

“Abigail already hates me. It don’t matter.” John answered, sighing out now as Arthur began to pry apart the top half of his union suit, being stopped from continuing to unbutton it only by the pants John had over them.

“What kinda fool goes out into the wilderness without a gun or a knife to protect himself?” Arthur scoffed as he realized there was a lot less of John to undress for once. He’d been dressed for bed practically.

“You already know the answer.” John whined as Arthur reached a hand down to cup between his legs, teasingly rubbing at his groin.

Arthur smirked as he sat up to take off his shouldered rifle. He hadn’t brought anything else with him - not even his gun belt. And he was definitely glad because it would’ve made dragging John out of the river a lot harder.

“You bein’ slow.” John stated as he wriggled beneath Arthur, trying to stir the man.

“I wanna be slow. Lemme be slow tonight.” Arthur whispered back, dipping down to press a delicate kiss to John’s lips. He leaned off.

John blinked a few times - confused. “You wanna be slow tonight?”

Arthur nodded. “Take my time with you. Try something different for once.”

John blushed. “I’m not a lady-“

“How many times do we gotta have this conversation? You ain’t a lady. Don’t mean I can’t treat you right.”

John didn’t have a response to that, chewing on the inner portion of his cheek with his molars, wondering just what Arthur had meant.

“Just relax, boy. You never relax.” Arthur sighed out, tapping gently at John’s cheek, teasing, the softness of it even surprising John because he was so used to the hard slaps that lit him up in all the right places. Arthur smirked to himself as he sat back up, fingers coming to John’s pants and undoing them, a hand slipping in to feel John growing through his union suit, an amused sigh leaving the younger man.

John kept quiet, kicking his legs out for the older man so that he could drag his soaked pants down to his knees, the water making it a challenge, but he’d eventually got it, the two laughing in unison.

“Them wet long johns don’t do a very good job of hiding your ‘long John’...” Arthur blurted out, a loud laugh immediately erupting from the man while John stared up at him, a look of sheer embarrassment to his visage.

“Oh lord, no, don’t ever say that again.” John pleaded, reaching out to playfully slap Arthur’s arm. “I’m scarred.”

Arthur snickered quietly, shaking his head as he undid a few more of the buttons on John’s union suit, still staying above the groin to be a tease, but pressing a few kisses along the man’s exposed naval.

John let one of his hands come to Arthur’s head now, nestling in his hair and stroking through the thick locks. The water had flattened it back against his head as if he’d been wearing pomade, John attempting to pull a few strands just to be an annoyance.

Arthur moaned out quietly, pressing wet kisses all along John’s lower stomach. As he went even lower, Arthur nuzzled his nose against the tightening bulge just barely being concealed now by John’s union suit. He could feel the tenseness and the involuntary flexing of muscle beneath his lips and when he looked up, he could see the dazed expression on John’s face telling him to continue without words.

“Can’t believe you survived three days without me.” Arthur murmured out, sitting up just enough so that he could reach his hand into the suit and slip John’s erection out, the cold air making the younger groan. Arthur smirked, taking the shaft into his hand and pumping it slowly.

“I fucked myself thinkin’ ‘bout you every night.” John whimpered out, head falling back against the dirt while sparks of pleasure shot through him. Arthur’s strokes were almost painfully slow but, god, he needed it so badly that it hardly mattered.

“You did? I’m surprised. John Marston, the type to masturbate? Go figure.” Arthur chuckled, a hint of sarcasm to his tone as he rubbed his thumb teasingly over the head of John’s cock, eliciting a stifled moan from him.

“I ain’t... I just... you...” John’s words were lost in his mind, not coherently leaving his mouth and causing Arthur to laugh out. He hated not being able to express himself - if he could, he’d tell Arthur all the details of each night he spent alone. All the times he touched himself. But instead he was trapped in his own head, thoughts running off a mile a minute.

“Don’t think too hard, boy.” Arthur winked before quickly spitting into his palm to slick John up. “I’ been thinkin’ a lot about you, myself.” He admitted, giving the younger a few more pumps before letting go, despite protests, and then moving to sit up so that he could get John fully naked.

John was groaning and pouting the entire time, mostly because he hated having to wait. Childishly, he held out each arm for Arthur to drag the sleeve down and then proceeded to lay back while Arthur yanked the wet suit and his pants down to his ankles, pulled off his boots, and then tossed everything into a sopping pile on the rocks. “What about you?” John asked with a raised brow, suddenly feeling very... naked and cold.

Arthur put his hands up defensively before moving to unbutton his own shirt. “I’m going, I’m going. Relax.” He snickered, though John’s face remained in a pout. “Told you we was gonna go slow tonight, Marston.”

“Too slow and I’ll fall asleep right quick.” John teased, a sly grin on his face as he watched Arthur roll his eyes and undress himself.

“You do that and I’m throwin’ you back in the river to sleep with the fishes.” Arthur warned, though the words were clearly an empty threat that made John want to laugh, but he resisted. Arthur shrugged himself out of his shirt now, groaning as it stuck to him like glue, and then attempted to ring it out before tossing it along with John’s pants. It wasn’t long after that he’d managed to work himself out of the rest of his clothing, the older man now kicking aside his drawers, then taking out the small tin of animal fat that he’d had in his pocket to set it aside on the rocks nearby. He then came crawling right back on top of John like he’d never left him.

John let out a moan as he felt Arthur’s cock rub up against his own, the older man clearly doing it on purpose as he ground their bodies together, now leaning down to press their lips together as well.

This was all so new to John - the kissing - god, he couldn’t of believed they’d went so long without it. And even then, he still couldn’t comprehend that it ever would happen because kissing random lips wasn’t just something people did.

John may not have been one to always listen and follow advice, but he never did forget Hosea catching him outside a whore house at 16 and telling him he could do what he pleased but to “ _never kiss those fallen angels_.” He kept those words with him and he never did - though he stopped visiting those places soon after when it occurred to him how degrading it was for both the women and the men involved. Even with Abigail, he never kissed her either - not until they were a real, true couple.

And so kissing Arthur now... well... it went against a lot of the ideas he had. Arthur wasn’t a worker at a brothel, Arthur and himself weren’t together, and John just didn’t do these kinds of things with strangers... but Arthur wasn’t a stranger. Arthur was...

“John?” Arthur asked for the umpteenth time, the younger suddenly coming back to reality as he realized he’d been daydreaming.

John felt his face flush as he looked up at Arthur, the man’s face was so beautiful... and confused... a brow raised and lips parted slightly. Oh god.

“What did you say?” John asked, sheepish.

“I said, I really like kissing you.” Arthur mumbled out, eyes narrowing.

John’s heart swelled up in his chest, feeling like it could burst against the sharp ridges of his rib cage. “I... I like it a lot, too.” He admitted, quietly, because it still felt so foreign. He was so used to lust driving them into their animalistic ways and for once, he felt lost. Like he’d been a virgin all over again.

“Let me get the tin.” Arthur said from above him, shifting to extend his hand out and grab the small container and pop the lid off it. He smirked when he’d realized they’d be needing more soon. “Running low. Guess we do this a lot, huh?”

John extended his hand out to rub slowly at Arthur’s arm, looking at the tin as Arthur held it out to show him how little they had left, then laughing. “That’s the fifth one already. Gonna go broke soon if we keep it up.”

“Better to go broke than to break you in half.” Arthur replied with a knowing expression, one that made John gulp hard. The younger man watched with wide, bright eyes as Arthur dipped a few fingers into the tin, swiping up majority of what was left in it, then rubbed it between his finger pads to soften it up.

John was trained like a dog at this point, just the sight of seeing Arthur prepping was enough to make his cock throb and his stomach clench.

Arthur then carefully backed off John, just enough to take his left arm and hook it under John’s left knee and raise his leg up high.

John instinctively rested his foot on Arthur’s shoulder now in order to aid him as he leaned in and down to bring the younger’s own knee towards his chest. John couldn’t help but groan at the stretch and his own lack of flexibility.

Arthur then shifted his own left thigh to come up beneath John’s ass, a small whine leaving John, as he propped him up and spread him apart for easier access.

“This is new...” John whimpered out as he stared up at Arthur, practically at the man’s mercy.

Arthur didn’t answer, instead just licked his lips as he took his lubricated fingers and brought them between John’s legs, immediately finding his entrance and circling around it to tease him. He wanted to so badly push his fingers in, but he waited, if only to take in the whimpering from John beneath him.

“Please...” John pleaded, attempting to press down on Arthur’s fingers but helplessly being held up and unable to move.

“Shhh.” Arthur hushed him, gently pressing two digits into John, the tightness completely overwhelming John and causing him to cry out.

“Three days too many...” John hissed out, digging his heel into the tender muscles of Arthur’s shoulder.

“You’re fine,” Arthur assured, pressing the digits in as deep as he could, pausing when he’d hit his knuckle, and then slowly slipping them out. The older man couldn’t help but notice the way the moonlight had been catching on John’s face - the way the river was causing it to reflect onto his skin and light up his eyes. They were so wide - desperate. He pushed the fingers back in, curling them up against the heat, and then slipped them out to do it all over again.

John was silent, only small, flustered sighs leaving him as Arthur continued to twist and curl his fingers up into his body, occasionally hitting that small bundle of nerves that would shoot pleasure right through him like lightning. “Come here.” He gasped out now, Arthur smirking and immediately leaning down to oblige, their lips crashing together while he continued to work his fingers into John.

John was sure that he could die right now and be absolutely content. Didn’t need to do anything else, no, this was perfect. This kiss was much more heated than the previous ones, a bit of a dominance struggle between the two of them as they glided their tongues up against one and others hungrily.

“Fuck,” Arthur moaned into the kiss, now slipping the fingers out so that he could give himself a few jerks in his hand, his own cock already dripping with how badly he wanted the other man.

“I need you.” Was all John had to say for Arthur to break the kiss to grab the tin again, spreading the last of its contents onto his erection, and then throwing it off into the darkness.

“You’ll have me.” The outlaw cooed back, reaching down to kiss John on the lips, and then down his neck and stopping at his chest when he could no longer reach.

John’s heart was pounding, loud and hard enough that he was sure Arthur could feel it throbbing against his lips, the younger’s breath hitching when he felt Arthur’s engorged tip press up against him.

“Beg for it, boy.” Arthur growled out, catching John off guard and making the younger man groan loudly in exasperation.

“Arthur, please,” he began.

“Beg.” Arthur stated again, smirking and pressing a bit more against John, his tip just barely beginning to slip in.

John was red all over. “Please, fuck me. Please, Arthur. I need you so badly.” He pleaded, voice hoarse and needy.

Arthur looked content, scoffing quietly before giving John what he’d wanted - and himself - and finally pushing himself in, going immediately to the hilt.

John’s back immediately arched off the dirt, a loud moan escaping him as he felt Arthur plunge into him completely - the angle so foreign to him that he immediately reached out to grip tightly at Arthur’s forearms, digging into the skin with his nails. “Arthur, Arthur...” His eyes were clamped shut, teeth clenched and bared.

“Easy,” Arthur answered back, pausing his movement entirely so that John could adjust, the younger clenching his walls tightly around Arthur’s erection, akin to a vice grip. “Look at me.” He said now, voice waning as the pleasure pulsed through him. He could see the panic setting in on John’s face.

John willed himself to listen, obeying and fluttering his eyes open, now looking straight up at Arthur. He was panting heavy, body stiff, and nails still digging into Arthur’s arms.

“You’re okay, John.” Arthur told him now, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his lips, John meeting him halfway in the middle. “You’re okay...”

“... I... I’m okay.” John echoed against Arthur’s lips before breaking away to let his head fall back against the dirt. Arthur always found a way to calm him down - stop him from panicking... he swallowed hard, nodding finally. “You can move.”

A small smile crept onto Arthur’s face now, the outlaw slowly pulling his hips back, shaft sliding out of John, a sigh leaving both of them practically in unison as he slipped out nearly to the head. He then rolled his hips forward, Arthur pushing himself back in, lips parting to groan.

John’s back arched once more, and he felt himself clenching his walls again, but he kept his eyes on Arthur’s face and forced himself to relax - the man taking in a deep breath as Arthur pulled out once more, exhaling shakily when he’d thrusted back in. Slowly, the two began to fall into a rhythm - John adjusting more and more with each thrust into him.

“Better?” Arthur questioned as he pressed John’s knee further into his chest to spread his legs wider apart, his own knee slipping further beneath John’s ass to hold him up more so that John’s balance was transferred to his upper back.

The younger man nodded and groaned softly, his right leg coming up to rest across Arthur’s lower back now, pulling the outlaw down closer to him so that their stomachs were touching, inadvertently plunging Arthur deeper into him than previously.

A long, guttural moan left John at the intense pleasure that suddenly rushed through him, Arthur having hit something in him that he’d never felt before. “Oh, fuck!” He cried out, body contorting beneath Arthur, who had also nearly doubled over from the euphoria.

The two of them had reached a state of bliss, bodies working in unison as each minute went by. Every time Arthur would slide out, John would ease the pressure of his foot on Arthur’s back, and then when Arthur would thrust in, he’d buck up and pull him in further. It had become seamless, as if they were two puzzle pieces melded together.

And then there was the eye contact - even more intense now than the last time they’d had this experience. All John could see was Arthur on top of him, surrounding him, claiming him with each thrust of his cock into him. His hands had moved from Arthur’s arms to his shoulders, then sliding up towards his neck and finally to his cheeks, pulling the man down forcibly to hungrily attach their lips once more.

“Such a good boy.” Arthur drawled, the words spoken between broken up kisses, a gasp following when John had daringly took Arthur’s lower lip between his teeth and tugged.

If John could hear those words forever on a constant repeat, he would - his stomach pooling with heat and eyes nearly rolling to the back of his head while Arthur continued to thrust into him, motions slow and deep - so fucking deep - that the younger outlaw questioned if he’d be able to walk.

Arthur had suddenly dropped John’s leg out of pure exhaustion, now collapsing into John with a hiss. He forced himself back up, propping his weight up onto his hands that were now on either side of John’s shoulders, the younger man immediately wrapping both legs around Arthur’s waist, ankles locking tightly together to keep him there.

They were both slick with sweat, Arthur lazily letting his forehead rest against John’s shoulder while his hips slowly rolled himself into John, thrusting practically balls deep into the man, cries and stifled moans coming from both of them. They were both close, but neither wanted to admit it. They both wanted to make this last as long as possible.

“You never fucked me this good, Arthur. It’s like you get better every time...” John whispered out against Arthur’s ear, nipping gently at his lobe while a hand came up to run through his hair, holding his head against his shoulder. “I don’t know how much longer I can last. It’s so good.”

It didn’t help that every time Arthur would thrust into him, considering their bodies were pressed against each other, his own cock would rub against Arthur’s stomach, adding to the mix of pleasure threatening to make him come undone. But he held on, jaw tense and eyes going hazy.

“I know, I know. I’m trying to hold on.” Arthur admitted, breath hot against John’s skin as he turned his face to pepper kisses along the man’s neck, fighting the urge to let go. He was right on the edge, like standing on a cliff with one foot off, but he kept holding on in a balancing act.

That was, until John had clenched his muscles tightly around Arthur’s shaft, the pleasure too much to hold off now, and he immediately felt himself let go, a groan following suit as his thrusts became a bit faster and more sporadic, feeling himself filling John with his warmth. “Marston...” Arthur whined out a few moments later after catching his breath. He had paused himself, now lifting his head from John’s shoulder so that he could press their lips together again, quickly silencing John’s own whines to taste the younger’s whiskey drenched mouth.

“God...” The younger said breathlessly as he broke the kiss to let his head fall back into the dirt, only to have it lifted back up by Arthur cradling the back of his neck.

“Look at me. I wanna see you come undone.” Arthur cooed out, a hint of authority to his tone. He picked up the pace once again just to get John off faster - thrusting into the man as deep as he could, John’s eyes locked on Arthur’s, his face red and expression helpless.

“I can’t, I can’t...” John groaned out, panting between each thrust into him, Arthur continuously hitting at that spot and making his thighs tremble and his teeth clench. “Fuck!” John gave one last cry before he felt himself spilling all over their stomachs, vision nearly going black as he tried his damnedest to keep his head up and his eyes open for Arthur.

“Look at you,” Arthur purred out, still holding John by the back of his neck as he continued to pump into him, ignoring his own aching body, and instead focusing on the fact that John was squirming and unraveling beneath him, even more ribbons of liquid coating at Arthur’s stomach now for the second time, making him smirk. He could see in the younger’s eyes how blissed out he was.

“Arthur, oh fuck, please... fuck...” John sputtered, thighs clenching tightly at Arthur’s waist as he attempted to ground himself back to reality, his orgasm making him feel like the world was spinning, his eyes unable to even focus on Arthur.

“That’s my good boy. So good. Look at you...” Arthur continued to praise him, now finally letting go of the back of his neck, John’s head immediately going slack against the ground. He pressed warm kisses all over John’s collar bones, holding himself inside of him as he waited for John’s trembling body to relax.

“Arthur...” John moaned out, chest heaving while he slowly began to return to coherency. He could feel the stickiness between them and the warmth from Arthur still inside of him. He was so spent.

Arthur was silent, letting his face rest against the center of John’s chest, listening to the pounding heartbeat rattling beneath the surface of his skin - he could hear it slowing and settling, eventually returning to a normal rate. He sighed, slowly slipping his now flaccid length from John, a small breath leaving John at the new absence.

John closed his eyes, hands coming up to stroke through Arthur’s hair, almost as if to cradle his face against his body, their legs tangled up still and bodies still pressed together as one. He could feel a slow drip pooling down his thighs from Arthur’s release... he felt claimed. Like he belonged to Arthur.

“Mm. We should wash up and head back to camp before they notice.” Arthur murmured suddenly, head slowly lifting to look at John.

John frowned, eyes fluttering open. “I don’t want to go back to camp.”

Arthur’s brow propped up, curious. “And why not?”

“They know, Arthur. They won’t say it to you but they was sayin’ it to me.”

“They don’t know nuthin’, John. Not if you don’t tell them.” Arthur sighed out, stirring now and forcing himself to sit up on shaking arms.

John didn’t move, just looked up. “I ain’t wanna go back to camp. I just wanna stay with you.”

Arthur smiled, albeit a sadness to his eyes. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, boy. You’ve got Abigail and Jack to raise and you already disappeared for a year once. Can’t do it again. No more talking. Let’s wash up.”

John felt a stiffness in his throat, wanting to speak up and say something but not knowing what to say. He was beginning to feel things about Arthur that didn’t make sense to him. Why was he even sad now? They’d just had the best sex ever and here he was, feeling like it wasn’t good enough. Like his heart was hurting.

After a few moments of silence, Arthur finally stood and helped John to his feet, dragging them both into the shallow end of the river. Arthur wasn’t stupid - he could read John like a children’s book. He could tell without asking that John was upset and he didn’t need to play a guessing game to figure out why either.

The water was cold but it felt good, especially to Arthur whose skin had felt like it was on fire. He was gentle with John, using his hands to cup water and then letting it drip down over the younger man, trying his best to clean him up, even if John wasn’t helping. He sighed, finally speaking. “I know you’re not happy with that answer, John.”

John looked down at their thighs in the water, nodding just enough for Arthur to see.

“It’ll be okay.” Arthur said softly, now pulling the younger man into his arms to hug him. This was different - it wasn’t friends hugging. It was... something else. And the hug felt like something else, too. Arthur held John tightly, arms going around the man’s waist and holding him close.

John just breathed in, letting his face rest into the crook of Arthur’s neck, breathing the other man’s scent in.

Arthur caved almost immediately after. “Okay. Fine. We’ll get a room for the night. Would that make you happy?” He asked in a sigh, pulling back to see John’s face, which had instantly turned into a hopeful expression.

“Really?” John asked quietly, as if cautious.

Arthur rolled his eyes and pressed a small, meaningful kiss to John’s lips, savoring it for a moment before he pulled back. “Yes, really. But just this one time.”

John was ecstatic - eyes lighting up under the moonlight, a wide smile on his face.

“I mean it, Marston. One time.” Arthur warned again, eyes narrowing.

John just continued grinning. “One time.” He repeated back, heart fluttering in his chest.

Though, he was hopeful it wouldn’t just be _one time_ after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Told you guys the boys would eventually get there! 😝 But there’s still progress to be made. Feelings to be explored. More positions to be tried - y’all know the drill hehe. 
> 
> I already have some suggestions from previous comments for future stories - but please do continue to let me know your ideas and desires for them to partake in next! 
> 
> Edit: The next story likely will feature bondage and John getting punished cuz we can’t have them goin’ all soft on us all the time. >:D 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always welcome and I appreciate you all to no end. <3


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